magazines

The ongoing inability to go going sea kayaking is allowing more time to peruse my canoe and kayaking magazines. They are literally taking over the whole floor of a room in the house. I think that over the years I have managed to collect a few, what I consider gems, although probably many would disagree.
So here is the latest selection.

Ocean Paddler, which is still going strong. Issue No.1 appeared in May 2007 at the Scottish Sea Kayak Symposium.

This was a great and welcome addition to the sea kayaking scene in the UK. The first edition contained articles on incident management by Jeff Allen, photography by Douglas Wilcox, Tasmania by Justine Curgenven and Expedition Planning by me ( I had actually forgotten about that until I opened the magazine). Over the years it has contained a huge range of excellent articles and should be considered essential reading by anybody interested in sea kayaking. It is published 6 times a year and subscriptions are available.

A report of the Symposium held in December 1979.

This report on the Third National Sea Kayaking Symposium is looking a bit battered because the family rabbits attacked it a few years ago. The rabbits had to go after that, they had crossed a line when they attacked my kayaking literature!
Held just outside Sheffield in December 1979, it was one of my first excursions into mainstream sea kayaking. Organised by John Ramwell, who ran the Advanced Sea Kayak Club for many years, it had some great speakers. Nigel Foster spoke about his circumnavigation of Newfoundland with Tim Franklin, Derek Hutchinson spoke about expeditions and the Aleutians. Plus lots of other inspirational stuff. It would almost be true to say that attendance at this event and seeing what people were achieving, kick started my desire to get away on sea kayaking expeditions.

Another first edition. Canoeist evolved from White Water Magazine and was a valuable source of info in the 1980’s and 90’s.

Stuart Fisher launched Canoeist in January 1983, a change from White Water Magazine, which had been printed for years. In the first issue Paul Caffyn was half way around Australia and 30 companies who wanted to exhibit at the International Canoe Exhibition at Crystal Palace couldn’t get space as it was sold out! Major articles included how to complete fibre glass repairs, a review of the Mirage kayak, which paddlers of a certain age will remember with affection and guides to the Basingstoke and the Coruh River in Turkey. In later editions there were plenty of sea kayaking articles.

First published in 1960, this is a 1978 issue.

Canoeing was well known as the magazine in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s which had pictures of scantily clad females on the front cover. Mainly taken, I think, in the Ardeche, this cover is kayaks in the Ardeche. There was a mention of 1977 British Sea Kayak Expedition to Spitsbergen. Sam Cook who was on that trip is coming to Jersey in August this year to talk at our Nordkapp meet, so why not join us. Other articles included canoeing in North America and a photo guide to the Struer Kayak factory in Denmark

The magazine of the British Canoe Union from the 1950’s. It evolved into Canoe Focus.

A classic front cover photograph, from the Outer Hebrides. Nigel Matthews and Frank Goodman, who paddled around Cape Horn in 1977 are in the picture. Obviously Frank is well known through Valley Sea Kayaks. Chris Hare took the photograph, was a very influential figure in sea kayaking in the 1960’s and 70’s, including being involved in the production of magazines. The kayaks look like Anas Acuta’s, notice the lack of hatches and the paddles look like Mark Gee’s paddles. A non stop circumnavigation of Anglesey is one of the main articles.

A French magazine, which always seemed to be well produced, with high quality photographs.

Summer 2011 and the French paddling press was already pushing SUP. This magazine contains some articles with stunning photographs of paddling in France plus a circumnavigation of Islay, in Scotland. It helps if you can read a bit of French but if not you can’t failed to be impressed by the quality of the images.

Although out of action for several months with a ruptured achilles, it does allow me time to do some of those admin type tasks, which have been put on hold for several years as I have been to busy enjoying myself. One simple task is to sort out my collection of kayaking magazines.
Most people at this point will switch off and think what is he talking about. Over the years though I have built up a collection of canoeing and kayaking magazines, dating back to the 1930’s, which actually represent a significant body of knowledge about this sport we all love so much.
Even looking at the adverts gives you an insight into how the sport has evolved over the years.

The quarterly magazine of the Canoe-Camping Club, this issue is from the spring of 1960. My understanding is that the magazine is still printed.

The Canoe-Camping Club still publishes its magazine but this one dates from the spring of 1960. This issue contains some relevant advice on safety, a review of a 1957 Club trip to Sweden. Noel McNaught, who wrote a couple of popular paddling books of the era, has an article on the River Blackwater in Ireland. Again numerous short snippets illustrate what a well traveled and adventurous group members were in the Canoe Camping Club, 60 years ago.

The in house magazine of the British Canoe Union, this issue dates from July 1961.

The cover photograph of this issue of the BCU’s magazine is of trophy to commemorate Paul Farrant, the winner of the F1 class in the 1959 Canoe Slalom Championships. Sadly he was killed in a motor cycle accident in 1960, when returning back to London after retiring from the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race. The first page announces the appointment of Oliver Cock as the National Coach from the 1st January 1962. The fee for the services of the National Coach for the weekend was 12 guineas. £12.60 in todays money. Another announcement was the introduction of Third Party Insurance liabilities up to £1000. I think the current liability cover is £10 million. How times have changed. Most of the rest of the magazine was taken up with competition results, not the most fascinating reading.

First published at the end of 1960 this was one of the first magazines devoted solely to canoeing.

I haven’t got the first issue of this magazine but managed to find the second one. John Disley was the Advertisement Manager and had an article on strength training. He won the Bronze Medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase, at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, and went onto to co-found the London Marathon. Oliver Cock had an article on “Canoeing”, which was largely about the developments at the British Canoe Union and the possible appointment of the first National Coach for canoeing. A position he was to get. Another article considered the movement of water through the Swellies, in North Wales. The research carried out under the supervision of instructors from Plas Y Brenin. Plus numerous other short items. A varied and actually quite interesting selection.

Beachbreak is a specialist surf kayaking magazine first published in February 1980.

This was the magazine of the British Canoe Union Surf Committee, clearly it had a very small and specialist market. I think it last for 17 issues, that’s the number of issues that I have any way. Articles included a review of surfing in Brittany in 1979, riding waves in Hawaii on a ski and a guide to Kimmeridge Bay, in Dorset.

This North American magazine, from 1994, is the most recently published of those illustrated.

Atlantic Coastal Kayaker is published 8 times a year and is available in both print and online versions. I remember buying this issue, which was my first one, from Maine Sport in August 1994 after a family canoeing holiday on the West Branch of the Penobscot. Here are a few images of that first multi day trip with our children. Surprisingly when I opened the magazine I found a short review of a lecture I had given at the Crystal Palace Canoe Show of the Jersey Canoe Club trip to Greenland in 1993. The link with the magazine continues as in the next issue I have an article on sea kayaking in Jersey.

About Sea Paddler

The Sea Paddler website has been in existence in various forms since 1996. Initially as a site which provide a large amount of information about general sea kayaking. From about 2008 it functioned as a blog and now the aim is to provide a mixture of the two.
The focus was on sea kayaking in Jersey but has expanded into other geographical areas and different activities.

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